mckenzie



Letters Patent No. 75,2487, dated March 1'0, 1868.

Inraovnn BRICK-MACHINE.

dlp Srlgrhnlr referat tu in tlgcse tettrrslatmt rmt mating @at nf tpsante.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, J. C. McKENZIE, of Adrian, in the `county oi'Lenawee, and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Brick-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following tobe Aa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of thisspecification. A l

.My invention relates to that class of brick-machines inwhich the clayis compressed in the moulds by a pivoted plunger or pressf operated bysegmental racks and pinions, and the moulds rest -on an adjustable rack,and are propelled under the press-box by a frame operated by crank andlever.

My. improvements consist, first, in supporting one or both ends of themould-rack on` springs, so as to counteract the strain caused by stonesor other incompressible substances 'getting intothe moulds; second, inthe provision of an adjustable scraper to remove any clay which mayadhere to the face of the plunger; third, in making -some or all of thebevelled bars in the bottom ofthe pressbox removable, to allow of thepressing of di`erent sizes and forms of bricks; and, fourth, in theconstruction of the segmental racks attached to the ends of the press orplunger, so as to allow of their reversal when worn. In the drawings-Figure lis a partial plan view of a brick-machine embodying myimprovements.

Figure 2 is a side elevation. v

Figure 3 is a front elevation, partially in vertical section, on theline :t aag. 2.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section on the line y y, fig. 3.

A A may represent the frame of the machine, andB B shafts journalledtransversely of said frame, having keyed lto them wheels C C C C, onwhich the machine is supported. D D are clevises attached to the frontof the frame, to provide for the attachment of animal or other power todraw the machine by.

E is the press-box, into which the clay' is fed from the pug-mill, andfrom which it is forced into the moulds by the press or plunger F. Thepressbox E is fastened to the frame Aby bolts G, which pass throughslots in the bottom flanges of its ends, and is braced longitudinally bythe rod'H and shaft I, the latter of which also forms the pivot of theplunger F, and of the segmental racks J. These racks are furtherattached to said plunger by the rod K, which passes through both ends ofsaid plunger, and through both of said racks, where it is threaded andsecured by nuts. The lower portion of the box E, which forms the sidesEl, and bars L, is cast with slotted lugs which pass through` slots inthe ends of the box, where they are held by vwedges or keys. The frontedge of this bottom is bevelled at e', to smooth the compressed clay inthe moulds.

L"L L are bars of similar form to the stationary ones L, but held at oneside by rigid projections or cleats, Z, and ou the other by buttons Z',so as to allow their removal to accommodate moulds for diifereut formsof bricks for paving, &c., such as would be made' in the mould shown insection in {ign-3, for instance.v

M is a bar of iwood'or metal secured betweeuthe ends of the box E. N isan adjustable scraper attached to said bar M by screws m, passingthrough oblong slots n. This scraper removes from the face of theplunger F any clay which mayadhere to itin thebox E, the slots allowingit to be moved down when worn.

O O are-pinions which mesh with and operate the segmental racks J,attached to the ends of the plunger F. These pinions are both keyed tothe shaft P, which is rotated bythe lever Q, or other suitable means.The gearing J 0 is protected by auges E2, formed on the ends ofthe boxE.

The segmental racks J being cast with both sides equal, and of the sameoutline, and with two holes, j, for the passage of the rod or bolt K, bywhich they are attached to the plunger, may readily beI taken off andchanged orturned when worn,'whereas otherwise they would have to bereplaced with new ones.

The mould-rack is `composed of two grates or frames, R, on which themould rests before and after the bricks are compressed, and a. series ofrollers, S, on Whichit rests w'hile under the pressbox. The frames R aresecured` to the sides T by bolts, as shown in iig. 3, and the rollers Sare journalled in said sides. The rear i end of the mould-rack rests ona bar, U, extending across the machine, and adjustably supported fromthe pro- I jecting upper rear ends of the frame A, ou bolts V, by nutsV', the rotation of which givethe rack more or less slant, as desred.-vThe front end is supported on springs,.W, of any suitable form andmaterial, (coiled steel or rubber being preferable.) These springs arestrung on bolts, X, depending from the upper front ends of the frame A,and supportedaud regulated by nuts X1. X2 X2 are sliding hangers, whichrest on said springs, and,

are guided by staples, X3, to form bearings for the rock-shaft Y, towhich the mould-rack is connected by toggles Y, said toggles beingoperated, to raise or lower the rack, by a lever, Y, keyed to therock-'shaft Y. a is a piu projecting from the side of frame A, againstwhich the lever Yz'rests when the rack is in its raised position. Thesides T ofthe mould-rack extending downward, form hangers, Tl, in whichthe rock-shaft Tz is journalled. Keyed to this shaft is a lever, T3, bywhich it is operated, and a crank, T4, 'to which is attached aforkedframe, T5, connecting it with the'mould-propelling carriage Ts,the-wheels t ofwhich run on tracks formed by the flaring upper edge ofthe rear ends of the sides T of the mould-rack. The carriage TG, wherethe frame T5 is attached to it, is slotted, to allow it to be adjustedso as to carry the moulds the proper distance under the.

press-box. .v

Z is an adjustable stop and guide to arrest the moulds in a properposition to be forced into the opening under the press-box. .It issecured to the frame by a bolt, z', passing through an oblong slot, z,which allows the stop to be adjusted relatively to the opening under thepress-box, to suit dlferent'lengths of moulds.

- Operation. y i

The press-box being filled with clay from the pug-mill, the plunger inits raised position, the mould-rack adjusted to the proper height, andthe stop Z set so as to guide the mould into the opening under thepress-box, the empty mould is slid on to the mould-rack, as-shown infigs. 2 and 1, until it is' arrestedzby the stop Z. i The carriage T isthen propelled forward by the lever T3, bringing the mould under thepress-box, when the carriage is forced back, and another mould slid on,as shown in lig. 4. The plunger F is then forced down by means of thelever Q, forcing the clay into the mould, the l-lever Q returned, andthe lever T3 again brought forward, bringing an empty mould under thepressbox, and forcing the filled one out on to the front grate, fromwhich it is removed by hand. By turning back the lever Y2, and allowingthe rack to drop, stones, 550.', which may have gotten into the mouldswith the clay, may` be easily removed.

When it is desired to press larger bricks than those usually made, byturning the buttons Z the bars L may be removed, when the machine isadapted to press bricks such as would be made in the mould representedunder the-press, in fig. 3, or by having all the barsremovable,` thegrate may .be regulated to press any desired forms of bricks, Sto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-,-

1. The springs W, arranged and operating, in combination with the boltsX and sliding hangers X2, to alord an elastic support for themould-rack, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The scraper AN, adjustable by means of slots n and set-screws m,employed in combination with the pivoted plunger' E, as and for thepurpose specied. i

3. Making some' or all of the bars L. L removable, by means of thebuttons Z or their equivalents, sub.

stantially as aud for the purpose set forth.

4. The segmental racks Jj, constructed substantially as represented anddescribed, so as to admit of their reversal when worn. i

To the above specificati@ 0f my improved brick-machine I have signed myhand, this 14th day of November, A. D. 1867. v

J. C. McKENZIlL Witnesses:

MoRToN EDDY,- O. M'. EDDY.

